Director: Neil Marshall
Year: 2022
Country: United Kingdom/USA/Hungary
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Creature Feature
Plot:
After being shot down over Afghanistan, a fighter pilot who escapes capture in an underground bunker meets a deformed creature inside and is forced to team up with a team of military officials stationed nearby to take down the creatures when they realize the true history of them.
Review:
There was a lot to like here which makes for a fun time. One of the better elements here comes from the engaging setup that gets this going nicely. Opening with the plane combat and needing to leave the area with the insurgent following her into the underground compound is a great start as the introduction brings about the reveal of the creature at an early stage is a nice move. Likewise, the rescue and subsequent arrival at the military camp that provides intel on the relationship between her and the soldiers as well as getting hints of the creatures’ origins is a fun move that comes off quite well.
That’s due to the setup allowing for a constant and impressive stream of high-end military action scenes. The use of heavy machine-gun firepower on display features some incredibly fun scenes including the first attack on the base which shows their skills and powers quite handily in a fully fleshed-out sequence. That features tons of combat tactics and gunpowder employed to try to stop the overpowered creatures running wild which are juxtaposed quite well with the graphic gore and kills here on both parties that has the fun of filling in the gaps about the creatures with a solid historical touch.
That becomes even more enhanced with the finale which gives off quite a bit more action than expected. Focusing on the mission back into the compound to finally beat the creatures which causes a slew of highly impressive gunfights and other military tactics to take them out, there’s a lot to enjoy with the series of battles in the facility. Utilizing the conflict to bring tons of close encounters, some thrilling stuntwork to go along with some fun spectacle-filled battles, and great gore in the creature attacks, these elements come together with the fun creature designs to give this some positive features.
This one has a few minor drawbacks to it. The biggest issue here is that there's never a real sense of camaraderie between the troops, openly mocking her for being in a different unit, being well aware of their criminal pasts, and excusing that behavior when it's repeated throughout. This causes the middle section to become quite dull in regard to the rest of the action surrounding it. As well, there are also some flaws with the tone here as the Action/Horror hybrid might not be appreciated by all out there which is a personal preference rather than a genuine issue for all that brings it down.
Overview: ***.5/5
A fun and enjoyable Action/Horror creature feature, this one comes off incredibly well for the most part as the few issues don't have much overall impact on the film. Those who appreciate this style or are fans of the creative crew will have the most to like here while most others out there who don't enjoy those factors should heed caution.
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